Financial mathematics checkpoint lesson 19.

Iceberg storage, a leading hard drive manufacturer, recently filed for bankruptcy. while most of iceberg's competitors were shifting away from physical data storage devices toward online cloud storage services, iceberg invested most of its retained earnings in the effort to improve its hard drives. once the hard-drive market drastically declined, iceberg storage was unable to capitalize on the new technology. which of the following does this scenario best illustrate a. causal ambiguity b. knowledge diffusion c. social complexity d. path dependence

Which of the following actions would be most likely to reduce potential conflicts of interest between stockholders and managers? a. change the corporation's formal documents to make it easier for outside investors to acquire a controlling interest in the firm through a hostile takeover. b. eliminate a requirement that members of the board of directors must hold a high percentage of their personal wealth in the firm's stock. c. for a firm that compensates managers with stock options, reduce the time before options are vested, i. e., the time before options can be exercised and the shares that are received can be sold. d. pay managers large cash salaries and give them no stock options. e. beef up the restrictive covenants in the firm's debt agreements.

Financial markets and channel to . they also channel money from individuals who want to for the future to those who need cash to spend today. a third function of financial markets is to allow individuals and businesses to adjust their risk. for example, , such as the vanguard index fund, and , such as spdr's or “spiders,” allow individuals to spread their risk across a large number of stocks. financial markets provide other mechanisms for sharing risks. for example, a wheat farmer and a baker may use the to reduce their exposure to wheat prices. financial markets and intermediaries allow investors to turn an investment into cash when needed. for example, the of public companies are because they are traded in huge volumes on the . are the main providers of payment services by offering checking accounts and electronic transfers. finally, financial markets provide information. for example, the of a company that is contemplating an issue of debt can look at the yields on existing to gauge how much interest the company will need to pay.